Convert BTU To Watt: Calculator + Conversion Chart (1 BTU = 0.293 W)

“How many watts is [INSERT NUMBER] BTU?”

This is a very common question. When you know how many BTU you have, you’re interested in how many watts is that. For that, you will need a BTU to watt converter.

How to convert BTU to watts?

You only need to know one thing:

1 BTU is equal to 0.293 watts

We can use that to convert BTU to watts quite easily.

Example: How many watts is 24,000 BTU? 1 BTU is equal to 0.293W. That means that 24,000 BTU is equal to 24,000 BTU * 0.293 watts/BTU = 7,032 watts.

Of course, we’re talking about BTU/hr. Both watts and BTU/hr are a unit of power. BTU/hr is a US standard unit for heat transfer. Watt is a SI unit of power as well; in HVAC, we use it to quantify heat transfer (both for heating and cooling).

It’s useful to know how to convert BTU to watts. To help you out, we at LearnMetrics have created a BTU To Watt calculator that you can freely use (check below). We will also solve 3 examples – for a window air conditioner, electric furnace, and a space heater – to illustrate how you can use the BTU To Watt conversion calculator or just convert BTU to watts by hand.

Here is the calculator (just slide the slides and you’ll get the conversion right away):

BTU To Watt Calculator

You can use this calculator to convert any number of BTU to watts. We have converted some of the most common BTU capacities to watts and gathered them in this table:

BTU To Watts Conversion Table

You can easily use this table. For example, 12,000 BTU is equal to 3,517 watts.

Let’s solve some real-life examples for HVAC units:

Example 1: How Many Watts Is A 10,000 BTU Window Air Conditioner?

10,000 BTU is one of the most common cooling capacities for a window air conditioner. If you want to know many watts is 10,000 BTU, you can convert BTU to watts either by hand or using the calculator. Let’s first make this conversion by hand and then with the calculator.

Converting 10,000 BTU to watts by hand

We know that each BTU is equal to 0.293 watts. Now, we have 10,000 BTU. Here’s how we use BTU to watt formula to calculate the capacity of a window air conditioner in watts:

10,000 BTU * 0.293 watts/BTU = 2,930 watts

In short, 10,000 BTU is equal to 2,930 watts. Let’s confirm this with the conversion calculator:

Converting 10,000 BTU to watts using a BTU to watt calculator

With some window air conditioners, you might find the cooling capacity specified in watts. You can use our watts to BTU calculator here to convert those watts into BTUs.

Example 2: How Many Watts Is a 50,000 BTU Furnace?

Furnaces are heating units with heating capacity expressed in BTU. In some electric furnaces, the heating capacity might be expressed in watts (less so in gas furnaces). We can take as an example a 50,000 BTU electric furnace.

Here is how you can use the BTU to watt calculator to get an idea of how many watts is 50,000 BTUs:

In short, 50,000 watts is equal to almost 15,000 watts (14,654 watts, to be exact).

Example 3: How Many Watts Is A 5,000 BTU Heater?

Many electric space heaters are a top heating capacity of 5,000 BTU. How much is that in watts? Let’s use the calculator like this:

5,000 BTU is about 1,500 watts. In fact, most space heaters are 1,500W heaters. Because the electricity efficiency of space heaters is very close to 100%, the 1,500W is both heating output and electricity input of most space heaters.

If you have any questions about how to convert BTU/hr to watts, you can use the comments below and we’ll try to help you out as best we can.